HOW MANY ELEMENTS DO YOU CARRY AROUND IN YOUR BODY?

In my last post I mentioned that chemically elements form the universe for that matter the natural environment, and the basic building blocks of the elements are atoms. In this post what I intend doing is to focus on the elements in relation to the human body.

Let us start with the definition of element. Element is a basic form of matter that cannot be chemically broken down. An element has the same number of protons. If an element contains say ten atoms, all the ten atoms contain the same number of protons. So if one atom contains two protons, the remaining nine contain two protons each, as well. Elements pervade the universe. The most common element in the universe is hydrogen: your body contains more hydrogen atoms than atoms of any other element. Examples of elements are helium, hydrogen and oxygen.  Ninety nine percent of the mass of the human body is made up of six elements: oxygen (the atom of oxygen is heavier than that of hydrogen), hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, calcium and phosphorus. Atoms of hydrogen and oxygen combine to form water. Water that run through tubes into your kitchen and bathrooms, for example.

Science explains that elements were formed by nuclear reactions in stars.

BODY ELEMENT TABLE (mass)

NO	ELEMENT	PER CENT	SOURCE	BENEFIT
01	Oxygen	65%	Water, air, sun and soil	Respiration
02	Carbon	18%	Earth’s crust, atmosphere, sun, stars, coal, oil etc.	.Used in structural and metabolic functions. .Carbon cycle
03	Hydrogen	10%	.Most abundant element in the universe .Hydrocarbon .Water	.Water. .Hydrogen cycle.
04	Nitrogen	3%	.Earth’s atmosphere .Protein	.Nitrogen cycle .DNA .RNA
05	Calcium	1.5%	.Earth’s crust .Seawater .Sedimentary rocks .Silicate minerals	Hardening of bones and teeth.
06	Phosphorus	1.0%	Phosphate rock	.A component of DNA and RNA .Formation of cell membrane
07	Potassium	0.35%	.Ionic salt .Seawater .Fresh fruits .Vegetables	.Necessary for normal nerve transmission .Little or too much potassium can end up in e.g. unusual heartbeat
08	Sulfur	0.25%	.Sulfide and sulfate minerals .Created inside stars .Hot springs and volcanic emissions	.Wastewater processing .Wine making .Necessary part of living cells .Present in amino acid .Present in enzyme
09	Sodium	0.15%	.Earth’s crust .Minerals-feldspar,salt rock,sodalite .Sodium chloride	.Necessary in regulation of blood volume and blood pressure .Osmotic balance
10	Magnesium	0.05%	.Aging stars .Earth’s crust .Seawater .Minerals-dolomite, magnesite	.Functioning of enzymes .Interacts with DNA,RNA etc. .Milk of Magnesia
11	Copper Zinc Selenium Molybdenum Fluorine Chlorine Iodine Manganese Cobalt Iron	0.70%	Stars &  Earth’s crust Earth’s crust Soil & Ocean water Earth’s crust and Ocean Fluorite Earth’s crust-ionic chloride Earth’s crust, Seawater Earth’s crust, Minerals, Seawater Earth’s crust Earth’s crust, Earth’s core	Present in liver & bone Prevent aging of skin etc. Reduction of antioxidants Prevention of tooth decay Prevents tooth decay Purification of water Prevents cancer Present in human brain Present in human enzyme Red color of blood
12	Lithium Strontium Aluminum Silicon Lead Vanadium Arsenic Bromine	trace amounts	Star, Seawater, Earth’s crust Earth’s crust, Groundwater etc. Star, Earth’s crust Earth’s crust-silicates, sand, dust Earth’s crust Minerals, Fossil fuel, Sunlight Earth’s crust, Seawater Earth’s crust, Seawater	To treat bipolar disorder Helps in bone growth - Production of collagen - Micronutrients in humans - Necessary trace element

The table should tell you the interconnectivity between man or the human body and the natural environment, the elements being the basic substances constituting the natural environment. It is as if the natural environment has been minimized into say a 60 kilogram human body……..so what we put into the natural environment is what comes back to us!

Reference:

http://chemistry.about.com/od/elementfacts/fl/Element-Facts.htm

http://chemistry.about.com/cs/howthingswork/f/blbodyelements.htm